History with ‘Hud’: Story behind controversial, accident-prone Kenan Memorial Fountain
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — You’ve undoubtedly made the tight turn around the Kenan Memorial Fountain located at the crossroads of Market Street and Fifth Avenue in downtown Wilmington numerous times. But the fountain meant to add beauty to a busy intersection has caused several issues over the years. It’s namesake is also tied to a darker part of the Port City’s history.
The 14-foot-tall limestone fountain decorated with turtles, fish and gargoyles was presented in 1921 by William R. Kenan Jr. as a gift to the city in memory of his parents, Mary Hargrave Kenan and William Rand Kenan Sr. (a Civil War veteran, who became a life insurance salesman in Wilmington after the war).
But history remembers Kenan Sr. as far from an upstanding citizen.
Kenan had the rank of Captain in a Wilmington white-supremacist paramilitary force during the late 1800s, given the responsibility of commanding a machine-gun installed on the back of a horse-drawn wagon. He played a major role in leading the 1898 Wilmington Insurrection, and is reported to have killed 25 African Americans in seconds at an intersection using the mounted machine gun.
Focusing back on the fountain itself, and not the name attached to it, the design originated from a prominent New York architectural firm – where it was built for a cost of $43,000 – and shipped in pieces to Wilmington before being reassembled.
At the time, most residents still walked or took a streetcar to get around the city. But as the region grew and automobiles became the preferred mode of transportation, many residents correctly predicted the fountain would become a traffic hazard.
The fountain remained at its original dimensions until 1953, after several accidents caused officials to deem alterations necessary to avoid further damage to the fountain and improve traffic. The fountain originally had an additional tier at the base, with shallow steps on all four sides leading up to benches.
With the removal of the wide base, traffic conditions improved slightly (though accidents continue to occur to this day). Decades later, to make accidents even less likely, spotlights were added in 2012 to illuminate the feature at night.
Despite damage from Hurricane Florence in 2018, graffiti vandalism in 2020, and numerous people calling for its removal, the Kenan Memorial Fountain remains in the same spot it’s stood for more than a century.
